Tsonga and Verdasco play match on high speed trainTuesday, 13 October 2009

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco, acclaimed for their speed around the court, admitted to feeling a little nervous themselves as they played a modified exhibition match while hurtling around Shanghai in one of the world's fastest commercial high-speed trains.

Billed as the "fastest tennis in the world," seventh-ranked Tsonga of France took on ninth-ranked Spaniard Verdasco on a mini-tennis court laid down in one of Shanghai's high-speed Maglev trains on Tuesday as it reached a cruising speed of 431 kph (268 mph) during the seven-minutes and 20-seconds it took to make the 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) trip from Longyard Rail Road station in Pudong to Pudong International Airport.

"The feeling is special because we are going faster than our serve and it's crazy," said Tsonga, who along with Verdasco is in Shanghai for the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000. "You are a little bit nervous when it's really fast."

While Verdasco enjoyed the train ride, he wasn't so sure about the standard of tennis on board.

"For the first time in tennis, nobody won," Verdasco joked. "For me, it was the first time to be (traveling in a train) over 400 (kph). If we don't crash I'm not afraid."

At the Shanghai Masters, Verdasco and Tsonga are vying to qualify for a berth at the year-end ATP World Tour Finals starting November 22 in London.

Verdasco, who reached the Australian Open semifinals in January, is currently in seventh place on the list of potential candidates to take the final three spots in the exclusive eight-man tournament.

Tsonga, who helped his cause last week when he won the Japan Open, is sitting in 10th place on the list.

i didn't find a view of the court... but they claim this is the highest lawn tennis court in the world, at 3500 m in Leh, in Ladakh (Himalaya) !

Click to expand...

I have played here!!! Or at least I believe I have in that I played at a very similar looking place in Leh in 1998. I also had the joy of playing cricket against the town of Leh in their "stadium". I was out for 4 .

My favourite memory of Leh is visiting the Dalai Lama's summer palace which is near there. There is a gompa nearby with a 40ft+ solid gold budha that the gompa is built around.

I have played here!!! Or at least I believe I have in that I played at a very similar looking place in Leh in 1998. I also had the joy of playing cricket against the town of Leh in their "stadium". I was out for 4 .

My favourite memory of Leh is visiting the Dalai Lama's summer palace which is near there. There is a gompa nearby with a 40ft+ solid gold budha that the gompa is built around.

Orig

Click to expand...

that sounds great !

did you visit ladakh as a tourist ?
(or as a cricket player, maybe ?...)

did you visit ladakh as a tourist ?
(or as a cricket player, maybe ?...)

Click to expand...

As a tourist. I went to India for 4 months back then and road a motorbike (An Enfield 500cc "Bullet", they build them under licence in India now, alongside Austin Ambassadors) from Delhi to Leh via various places. The Himank Road in particular was just crazy! That and "tyre exchange" when you blow through your 4 tyres (you carry two spares) in a day...

I played there (or somewhere very similar) with a guy called Lotus who used to run a trekking company up there. Nice chap, was the first time he'd played tennis! I also think I can take the credit for introducing some monks near the Pakistan border in the mountains to frisbee! .

The cricket was due to part of a county cricket team visiting the area. I met them over beers at some point and got made into the tail ender to bat. Was great but it had been 10yrs since I'd played cricket so the results were predictable

I've played the Maui Sprecklesville next to beach courts.
I've played the Oahu sunken grass courts at Kahala behind the two gold lions in the front.
I've hit at the KingBeach (LakeTahoe) new courts.
I've hit at MammothMt's courts....and NorthStar's.
But you guys gotta hit some at the AliceMarble (? name) courts at Greenwich and Hyde in SanFrancisco. You see the whole view of SF Bay, Marin's Belvedere, and Alcatraz, along with AngelIsland in the background, the same one almost on Rice a Rony commercials, and TonyBennetts "halfway to the stars" cable car run.

I've played the Maui Sprecklesville next to beach courts.
I've played the Oahu sunken grass courts at Kahala behind the two gold lions in the front.
I've hit at the KingBeach (LakeTahoe) new courts.
I've hit at MammothMt's courts....and NorthStar's.
But you guys gotta hit some at the AliceMarble (? name) courts at Greenwich and Hyde in SanFrancisco. You see the whole view of SF Bay, Marin's Belvedere, and Alcatraz, along with AngelIsland in the background, the same one almost on Rice a Rony commercials, and TonyBennetts "halfway to the stars" cable car run.

Click to expand...

Cool Dom! Are the maui ones the one by the country club of maui?
King Beach ones look cool.
Alice Marble, are those the ones raised above the streets to the west and east streets raided maybe 15 feet?
Never been to mamoth mtn and northstar

^^^ They've completed a lot more buildings since I was last there! The Hyatt buildings in particular look almost done (!). I worked for a little while on a contract in the building just left of the Sheraton (the Pyramid one on the far right) in the top picture. QTEL tower.

I think I posted earlier on this link about the AliceMarble courts as one of the most scenic. And that's just ONE view, out WNW thru the fencing. Another N view shows Sausalito and AngelIsland, NNE shows Alcatraz , E shows CoitTower (where Clint got beat up in DirtyHarry1), and SE shows TransAmerica building.
Where little cable cars, climb halfway to the stars......the golden stars, make fill the air.....
Greenwich and Hyde. SanFrancisco, California, one of my home courts.

That's HawkHill, were most car commercials are filmed when you see a narrow winding two laner road and a new model car going up or down....
To the right, MtTamalpias, is also used in car commercials, just up from PorteroMeadows is a winding, scenic two lane road called Bolinas/FairfaxRidgeRoad, used quite regularly by car companies for introducing their newest cars.

"E towards ....... tower"......
That's YuerbaBuenaIsland, home of TreasureIsland, where that old '37 Worlds'Fair was hosted.....back then.
And believe it, LombardSt. is the SECOND curviest street in SanFrancisco. There's a less known DeHaro, from around 20th to around 25th, out in the PortreroDistrict that is longer and more turns.